The Fast and the Furious
by Thunder Explosion
Summary: AU. Natsu is an up and coming street racer who is trying to provide a good life for his sisters. Gray is a top racer on the L.A. street circuit who runs with the gang Fairy Tail. When a challenge between the two results in Natsu getting an offer to join with Fairy Tail, will it lead to a new beginning for his family, or the beginning of the end?


A/N: So I was at work last night and this idea popped into my head, so after I got out I immediately went home to write it. However, my computer decided it wasn't going to work so I had to type this whole thing on my phone. So sorry if anything looks weird when I upload it, I'll reread it and fix any issues.

By the way, seeing as this story is centered around street racing, it would be kind of problematic if the main character had extreme motion sickness, so in this story, Natsu isn't.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy!

...

"I'm all fired up now! Let's get this show on the road!" Natsu all but screamed from behind the wheel of his car. He revved the engine in his burnt orange 1970 Camaro as he pulled up to the starting line.

The streets in this part of Los Angeles were very quiet, as several generous volunteers blocked the streets off for the pack of illegal street racers. The rules of this race were very simple: a straight quarter mile shot from start to finish. The first one across the finish line out of the four racers was the winner. Each racer put up five grand, and to the winner goes the spoils. It doesn't get much simpler than that, and that was just how Natsu liked it.

Once all the cars were staged, the flag girl walked out to the center of the start line. The flag girl for this race was a cute blond girl in a blue bikini. She stood at about 5'6 and was a little modest in the chest area but had a very athletic and toned lower half.

The girl motioned to each of the drivers to check if they were ready. Each driver signaled back that they were with an enthusiastic thumbs up. Natsu could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins like fire as the girl raised her hands above her head. She gave the call. "Ready? Go!"

With the drop of her hands the drivers were off. Natsu approached the drag rhythmically as he did every time the flag dropped. Gas. Clutch. Gas. Clutch. Natsu was starting to make a name for himself within the street racing community over the past few months with the way he had been winning lately. Gas. Clutch. Every time the flag dropped, the thoughts of why he was doing this and why he was working so hard at racing would run through his mind. He did it for his sisters, but he also did it for the thrill. Gas. Clutch. He loved the competition and he hated to lose to anybody. Gas. Gas. Gas.

Natsu crossed the finish line first. "And the winner is Natsu Dragneel! So cool!" the man called out with his megaphone.

The racers all parked their cars and got out to greet the enormous crowd that always came to watch these races. The man with the megaphone; Natsu believed his name was Jason but wasn't entirely sure, came over to Natsu and gave him his prize money. A group of oggling fans, mostly either young men who were fascinated by cars, or young women who wanted to get with the winning racers to satisfy their needs for adrenaline and just some pleasure in general, came over to greet Natsu on his way back to his car.

Natsu would always just smile and laugh or give a short hearty thanks to all the onlookers of the races. Frankly, he had no interest in any of these people as the only reason he did it was to support himself and his family. He made his way back to his car to move it out of the way, as drivers were already lining up for the next race, when he heard an engine coming from the direction opposite of the starting line.

Onlookers began to whisper as the dark blue Nissan GT-R pulled into sight and came to a stop. "Is that who I think it is?" "There's no way it's not." "That's gotta be him."

Natsu was wondering who all the people were talking about when he heard a woman next to him say his name. "That's Gray Fullbuster!"

Gray Fullbuster. Natsu had heard that name around the races he'd been to, but never actually saw the man in person. He was both an elite street circuit racer and a wanted criminal, and he ran with the Fairy Tail gang, which was one of the most powerful gangs in the Los Angeles underground.

The man in question stepped out of the car. He had a mess of spiky raven hair and dark eyes. He was currently sporting an unzipped white leather jacket over a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans that had very bold white stiching on them, with the cuffs falling overtop of his black tennis shoes. He stared at the crowd for a minute before addressing them. "Alright boys and girls, amateur night is over" he said with a loud, flat tone.

'Amateur night? Just what the hell is this guy talking about?' Natsu thought th himself. He'd seen the guy for two minutes and he already couldn't stand him.

"There are a lot of gangs in the city currently looking for potential new recruits" he stated to the crowd, thus garnering what little attention wasn't on him at the moment to him as he paused. "However, it's very hard to gather quality racers in this city when all the local kids wanna do is gather together and run these stupid little drag races." This statement pissed a lot of people off, but none more than Natsu, as the salmon haired racer was almost burning with as angry aura at the newcomer's arrogance.

"Therefore" Gray continued, "I am proposing a little challenge for you kids. I want twenty of you to start from where I'm standing. You will race from here out to the highway. It will be a five mile race on the highway to the exit to the Staples Center. Get off at that exit and race to the building. Whoever reaches the north exit first will be invited to come join the Fairy Tail gang." He closed his eyes and began to walk back to his car.

The crowd began to murmur with several people immediately rising to the challenge and running off to their cars, screaming along the lines of "I can't believe I have a chance to join Fairy Tail!"

Natsu, however, remained rooted to the ground for a moment. This guy was the definition of arrogant. Looking down on us for drag racing cause he's some cool as shit gang member? Just who the hell did he think he was? Natsu lost control of his mouth as his anger took over, shouting to the racer "And what, you're not gonna race against us?"

The crowd went silent. People whispered amongst themselves "Did he really just challenge Gray Fullbuster?" "Gray is gonna wipe the floor with that punk." "There's no way he can win, Gray is as cool as they come."

Gray turned around to look at Natsu as he laughed, "What, you think you can beat me hotshot?"

Natsu just grinned at him and walked toward his car. He really had no interest in joining Fairy Tail for the same reasons that he didn't have an interest in any of the people there. However, he did have an interest in shutting this asshole up.

"Cat got your tongue?" Gray called out. "Well, no matter. If you really think you can do this then it's the same track as I stated in my challenge."

People were flooding to either the start line or higher ground to see this race. One of the drivers who raced against Natsu, an older guy, voiced a thought to the crowd. "Hey Gray, who's closing the streets for this race?"

Gray turned around to face the voice and smirked. "Nobody."

...

Natsu and Gray were both in their cars at the start line that Gray had picked out. Gray, now shirtless, called out to the flag girl, the same one as before, "I'll call you when it's done gorgeous. Don't worry, it shouldn't take too long" he said with a wink at her. She blushed lightly before raising her arms. "Ready? Go!"

Gray clearly had a superior car, as it was faster off the line and it's sleek body style and great handling was gonna make it tough to pass for Natsu.

Natsu, being the hothead that he is, never let off the gas as he was trying to catch up to the Nissan in front of him. He ended up making wide turns trying to keep the speed in his Camaro. By the time they had reached the freeway entrance, Gray had put about 12 carlengths in between himself and Natsu.

"Too easy" he muttered to himself looking behind him. He laughed as he turned around, only to see that he was about ten feet from the back of a semi truck and closing fast. With a hard jerk left on the wheel and a well-timed 'oh shit', the raven haired driver avoided an accident. However, this action caused him to slow down tremendously, and Natsu passed Gray on the right side of the freeway.

"Shouldn't get too cocky over there. I'm not a hotshot for nothin!" Natsu yelled to himself as he proceeded to drive mostly out of his rear view mirror, blocking Gray from passing him.

This proceeded for a couple of miles until Gray dove off the highway, causing Natsu to follow suit as he realized he almost missed the exit. The two, with Gray now leading, drifted left off the highway, completely disregarding the late night traffic in this part of the city. Natsu, not knowing this area of the city particularly well, decided to follow right behind Gray until they came across the arena.

Once at the arena, Natsu could clearly see the track that was somewhat laid out by the parking lot's design. He followed Gray down into the first turn, a left, and tried to dive under him. Gray blocked him, and caused Natsu to ram his Camaro into the back of Gray's Nissan.

Natsu quickly observed the rest of the path. There was another sweeping left before a hard right, an uphill climb before a wide S in the track, leading out of the North Exit.

Natsu stayed at the outside of the sweeping left and decided that he would pass Gray in the sharp right. Natsu pulled the emergency brake and slid sideways into the right turn, slamming doors with each other, and Natsu had the advantage momentarily.

Gray got back up to speed in the uphill section and regained the edge on Natsu. Natsu was still at his side entering the S. Gray pulled away in the first section of it, but Natsu had the inside line on the second part of the track and regained position. They both approached the exit and...

Gray crossed first by half a carlength.

Both drivers stopped shortly after, and Gray called out his window "Guess you were all talk, huh. I'd stick to drag racing if I were you ash-for-brains." He laughed and drove off, leaving Natsu to sit and sulk.

...

"Damnit how could I lose to that asshole!?" Natsu screamed at himself. He looked at the clock on his phone. It was 12:30 now and he was almost to his apartment after picking up a couple pizzas. 'Wendy should be asleep by now but Lucy might still be up,' he thought to himself. Luckily, neither of them had texted him, and he hoped they were both asleep.

When he got to the complex, he parked his car, grabbed the pizzas, locked the doors, and walked up the stairs. His apartment was the first one in on the second floor. He opened the door, and to his dismay, he saw both the blond and the blunette, along with the two resident cats, Happy and Carla, sitting on the couch in their pyjamas, both wide awake.

"You know we worry about you when you don't come home until late big brother" Wendy said sadly as he walked in the door.

"Wendy, you should be asleep" Natsu lightly scolded.

"I couldn't sleep. I was worried about you" she replied.

Natsu let out a small laugh and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry girls. But I brought back food if you two are hungry" he smiled as he grabbed a couple slices of pizza and sat in a chair in the living room.

"You were out racing again, weren't you?" Lucy asked him with a hint of sadness.

Natsu paused for a moment before replying. "Luce, I gotta make money somehow."

"Can't you just get a normal job?" the blond asked.

"I could but I make really good money rac-" he was cut off.

"Yeah, you make good money until you get caught and are rotting in a jail cell" she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Guys, please don't fight" Wendy pleaded to no avail.

"Who said I was gonna get caught?" Natsu asked, his voice rising. "All I gotta do is be faster than the people racing against me and faster than the cops. Piece of cake!"

"Natsu, you're not just putting yourself in danger, you're putting me and your little sister in danger too!"

"No I'm not! All I'm doing is trying to provide for all of us."

"But you can't do that from a jail cell!"

"Guys, please stop!" Wendy said louder.

"I lost tonight!" Natsu screamed from the top of his lungs.

A silence fell over the room, until Wendy broke it. "I thought you never lose?"

Natsu paused for a while. "Wendy, go to bed for the night" he said softly. "I promise Luce and I won't fight anymore. We're just gonna talk about a few things. Now get some rest so you won't be tired for school in the morning and I'll make you your favorite breakfast in the morning. Okay?" he still spoke softly to the young girl.

"Okay big bro. I'll go to sleep now. You two should get some rest too though. Don't stay up to late" she smiled and winked at the two before walking into her room.

"I lost to a guy in the Fairy Tail gang today" he said to Lucy once Wendy had shut her door.

All color drained from Lucy's face when he said this. "Fairy Tail?" she asked.

Natsu nodded and told her everything that happened.

"You don't think.. that they're gonna give us any trouble for it.. do you?" she asked him in a scared tone.

Natsu shook his head. "I doubt it. While they're known to be expert criminals, they're not known to be ruthless or vengeful like some of the other gangs. I seriously doubt that they'd start trouble over a little race" he assured her.

The two sat in silence for a minute before they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it" Natsu said as he stood up to answer it. He was greeted by a short old man in a suit and tie, with balding white hair that shot out the back of his head like spikes, along with piercing green eyes.

"Hello, I'm looking for a man named Natsu Dragneel" he spoke in a gruff voice.

"That's me. What can I do for you gramps?" Natsu asked the old man.

"Ah, good, good" he said looking up at Natsu. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, and I'm the leader of the Fairy Tail gang" he said with a smile on his face. His smile soon faded when he saw that both Natsu and the other lady in the room had their jaws unhinged. "I assure you that I don't mean any trouble" he said to them.

"Okay" Natsu said reluctantly. "What are you doing here then?"

"Well, I saw your race against my driver Gray tonight" he explained "and you impressed me. You showed both a lot of skill and guts, and Fairy Tail could use a driver like you. So basically I'm here to offer you a job."

"But I lost tonight" Natsu said quietly.

"Natsu, you did lose. You lost to one of my best drivers who's been in this family for his whole life. He has been racing for years and he has top notch equipment, something I can assure you that you will have if you join us. Gray is on the verge of making it as a legit sports car racer thanks to us, and I believe you have the potential to keep up with him. That's why I'm extending this offer to you."

A silence fell over the room before Lucy began to protest, but Natsu raised a hand to silence her. "Can I get back to you sometime in the near future?" he asked the old man.

"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow. I'll tell you where to meet me and you can give me your answer then" Makarov said to him.

Natsu smiled and nodded his head and began to shut the door, but stopped when he realized something. "You have my phone number?" he asked stunned.

Makarov looked at him and laughed. "Boy I pay attention to every race and racer in this city, and with the way you've been turning heads these past couple of months you probably couldn't wipe your ass without me finding out about it." He continued to laugh as he walked out of the building.

Natsu shut the door and turned around to hear Lucy say one word. "No."

"Come on Luce-"

"No Natsu. Think about what kind of example you're setting for your little sister!"

"You heard him though. Gray has a chance to make it as a legit racer, a legal one. That's something most kids dream of. And I was just presented with an opportunity to make that happen."

"Natsu" Lucy began to plead "you've been lucky to not get caught so far, and Fairy Tail's name is synonymous with crime in this city. Please don't do it" she continued to plead as her eyes began to tear up. "I've already lost both of my parents and I don't wanna see the guy who was kind enough to take me in rot in a prison cell."

"Lucy" Natsu uttered, barely above a whisper. A silence fell over the room before he began to speak up again. "I want to leave this city. Lucy, you're just as much of a sister to me as Wendy is, and I don't want you two to be stuck here working some shitty job just to survive like you and I are now. You know what I think about before every race?" he asked the blond. "I think about you two. The fact that winning betters our lives is what gives me the motivation to go out and win."

"Natsu.."

"I'll think it over tonight and give him my answer tomorrow. Now, I think we should go to bed because it's been a really long day."

"Yeah, you're right" Lucy agreed. She then began to walk to her room. "Don't forget to make Wendy breakfast in the morning."

"Haha. I won't Luce. Goodnight."

"Goodnight" she said as she shut the door to her room.

Natsu began to take off his shoes and coat and curled up on the couch. His blue cat, Happy, laid on his chest and he began to stroke his head. Natsu fell asleep, wondering how his life would change if he decided to accept the old man's offer.

...

Well there's the first chapter. Many more characters will be making their appearence shortly don't worry. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and reviews are greatly appreciated!


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